Vegetable Chicken Pasta Soup

I usually make this when there are veggies in the house that need to get used. Although this variation is utilizing zucchini, tomatoes, carrots, swiss chard, spinach and celery, you could really use most green vegetables, and any type of shell or small variety pasta. Enjoy!

Vegetable Chicken Pasta Soup

Ingredients:

4 cups chicken stock

1 pound skinless chicken breasts-diced

1 bunch (1 cup) roughly chopped Sweet Basil

1 Yellow Onion-diced

4-5 cloves Garlic-minced

6-7 stalks Celery-thinly sliced lengthwise then chopped


1 cup diced Carrots

2 Zucchini-diced

2 Tomatoes-diced (or you can use whole stewed canned) 12 oz.

2 cups dry pasta (Fusilli or shell)

2 cups fresh Baby Spinach or Swiss Chard

½ Teaspoon dried Red Pepper flakes

2 cubed Chicken Bouillon

½ teaspoon Thyme

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

1 teaspoon Smoked Paprika

Salt & Pepper or Nature’s seasoning to taste

Directions:

In a large pot, sauté onions, garlic and basil in a few tablespoons of Olive oil over medium-high heat until golden brown. Add chicken, stir and cover. Stir chicken every couple of minutes, cooking for about 10 minutes. Add dry spices, tomatoes, chicken stock, and cover.

Wash, dry & dice your vegetables. Remove middle section of red stems from swiss chard, before rough chopping & adding to soup. Add to pot, stir and cover. Cook for 15 minutes. Ensure that you have enough broth to cover dry pasta noodles, add pasta, season broth, & cook for an additional 7-8 minutes, or until your pasta is tender. Serve.

Chicken Pot Pie with Puffed Pastry

This recipe makes the most scrumptious chicken pot pie filling. I used to make my own crust to pair with the recipe, but I find that frozen puffed pastry dough is the best, and I only add it to the top of the pie to cut a few calories.

I place the filling into individual oven safe bowls, or ramekins. It gives each person the perfect amount for a nice sized serving. I make a few extra which store well covered in the fridge for a few days. They can easily be reheated in the toaster oven. Enjoy!

Chicken Pot Pie with Puffed Pastry

Ingredients

•           3 whole Chicken breasts chopped into bite sized cubes

•           3-4 tablespoons Olive oil

•           Freshly ground black pepper

•           3 1/2 cups Chicken stock

•           Sea salt

•           2 chicken bouillon cubes

•           1 tablespoon unsalted Butter

•           1 cup yellow Onion, diced

•           3/4 cup all-purpose Flour

•           1/4 cup heavy Cream

•           2 cups Peas/carrot frozen mixture

•           1/2 cup minced fresh parsley leaves chopped

•           2 cups Celery chopped

•           2 Bay leaves

•           2 small cloves of fresh Garlic-minced

•           2-3 sprigs fresh Oregano

•           2 teaspoons Poultry seasoning

•           2 teaspoons Herbs de Provence

•           1 large Potato-peeled & diced

•           ½ cup white

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a small saucepan, sauté onions, garlic, parsley & bay leaves in olive oil & 1 tablespoon of unsalted butter, until golden brown. Add chicken, which have been cut into small bite sized cubes. Cook, stirring frequently until done. 

Add celery, potato, & herbs de

Add the flour and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Add the white wine or sherry. Simmer over low heat for 1 more minute, stirring, until thick. Add 2 teaspoons salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and heavy cream. Mix well.

Add to individual single serving ramekins that are oven safe. Top with frozen puffed pastry in small 3x5 squares. Brush with egg wash & bake.

This soup is a meal it itself. A little crusty Italian bread on the side, and you're good to go. It's cheesy, hearty & spicy. And it will warm you on a cold night. I like making this when the weather is cold, and I need a nice comfort meal to fill me up. It's packed with enough veggies to make it healthy.

Spicy Broccoli Cheese Soup

Ingredients:

½ of a large Velveeta cheese loaf (About 2 cups of diced cheese)

6-7 large stalks of fresh Celery- chopped finely

½ yellow Onion-diced

½ head of fresh Broccoli-chopped finely (about 2 ½ cups)

1 Serrano pepper-minced (I usually remove about half of the seeds to make sure it doesn’t get too spicy)

3 tablespoons Butter

1 cup Whole Cream

1 pint half and half

1 cup chicken stock

2 chicken bouillon cubes or Chicken flavoring

Nature’s Seasoning (to taste)- or salt & pepper

Directions:

Sauté in a large pot over medium-high heat butter, Serrano peppers, and onions. Add celery & broccoli, & reduce heat to low. Cook for about 15 minutes until all the veggies cook down. Add stock & stir frequently.

Add cubed Velveeta, seasonings, cream & half and half. Stir constantly as cheese melts down on very low heat. Taste & season accordingly.

Ginger-Chicken Vegetable Fried Rice

In the mood for something a little different? Trying to find a way to "hide" the veggies? Okay, I'm not really trying to hide them as much as I am attempting to use every last one of them before my upcoming 6 week trip.

Here's a tasty fried rice recipe packed full of veggies, chicken & a yummy ginger-sesame flavor!

Ginger Chicken-Vegetable Fried Rice

Ingredients:

½ pound Chicken breasts-diced

4 cups cold Jasmine rice

4 cloves fresh Garlic-minced

¼ cup chopped fresh Ginger

¼ cup toasted Sesame seeds

2 small Carrots-peeled & cubed

2 cups fresh Broccoli-chopped in small pieces

1 cup frozen Peas-heated

1 yellow Onion-diced

3 tablespoons Nam Pla

4 tablespoons Soy sauce

1 teaspoon chili Sauce

2 teaspoons Sesame oil

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

3 Eggs-beaten with a teaspoon of Soy sauce

1 teaspoon white Pepper

Directions:

In a large wok, heat both of your oils, then sauté ginger, onions, and garlic, until golden brown. Add chicken, 1 teaspoon of soy sauce, chili sauce, & 1 teaspoon nam pla. Cook until done. Add the broccoli & carrots. Mix & then cover. Allow to sauté for about 2 minutes. Stir periodically.

Move the chicken & veggies to the side, & add your whisked eggs. Allow the eggs to cook like an omelet-do not mix, except to move your pan to allow all the egg mixture to coat the side of the pan. Once almost cooked, add rice, remaining spices, peas & seasonings, & stir well. Once everything is well combined, cook until rice is heated, then remove & serve immediately.

Bountiful Baskets

We participate in a food co-op, for fruits, vegetables, organic whole grain breads, and other healthy add-in's. Our pick up is bi-weekly, & is all run by volunteers (hence the name co-op). This is the second month we've contributed, & although you have to be creative surrounding planning meals, it gives you great options to cook with during the winter especially, when the offerings in local grocery stores are less than exciting. Plus, the organic option is great! Each main basket will contain a minture of 50% fruit & 50% veggies, for a 30 lb. basket.

Great Falls isn't a location that would normally have a variety of fresh veggies and fruits all winter, but because we have access to the co-op, which trucks in produce only a few days old, I am able to create recipes with ingredients like pineapple, eggplant, squash, and fresh herbs all winter long. It's good quality & inexpensive.

Since my garage pantry shelves act as an additional fridge in the winter, I have the room to store extra produce, which by the way keeps for up to a month. BONUS! So here's to dreaming up some more amazing recipes the rest of the winter long! Cheers!

Check it out: http://www.bountifulbaskets.org/

or https://www.facebook.com/BountifulBasketRecipes?ref=ts

Chicken Venetian

*Adapted from a Chef Dennis recipe

Ingredients:

·         4-6 boneless, skinless, trimmed chicken breasts (depending upon size) **the ones I had were enormous, so I only used 3, and cut them in half prior to serving.

·         2 cups Ricotta cheese

·         1/2 cup grated Romano cheese

·         1 large egg (for Ricotta mixture)

·         6 ounces baby spinach cooked and drained

·         1 small clove fresh garlic-minced

·         ¼ cup chopped fresh Basil in Olive oil

·         1 tablespoon Natures Seasoning (or another all-purpose seasoning)

·         2 cups bread crumbs

·         2 eggs (for milk)

·         1/2 cup milk (to mix with egg)

·         1 cup flour seasoned with black pepper and salt to taste

·         1/4 cup olive oil (for pan frying chicken breasts)

Instructions:

1.       Place pieces of chicken individually in a large zip lock bag to keep it from coming apart. Pound chicken breasts with meat hammer until almost double in size.

2.       Mix ricotta, Romano cheese, spices, basil, egg and drained spinach together to make stuffing for chicken.

3.       Place about 1/2 cup of the stuffing mix in the center of the chicken breast and form a small oval shape while closing in around the stuffing. Continue until all the breasts are stuffed. Wrap each chicken breast with plastic wrap tightly to help them set. Place stuffed chicken in refrigerator for 30 minutes to help them set up.

4.       Prepare a breading station of flour seasoned with salt and pepper, egg wash (milk & egg), and seasoned bread crumbs. After 30 minutes dredge stuffed chicken in flour, using this time to make sure its sealed well, then the egg wash and finally the bread crumbs, making sure the entire breast is coated.

5.       In a hot saute pan add a little olive oil, and with the seam side down first, and saute each stuffed breast on both sides until they are golden brown. Place onto greased baking pan and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

I served my chicken over fresh Penne pasta with a light Basil-cream sauce I mixed up. These are very versatile and could be paired with virtually any type of pasta.